Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to assist the government of St Helena to improve its economy.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government continues to provide funding for a range of activities that assists St Helena Government improve the local economy. UK Government's funding makes up over 70% of St Helena's budget and therefore has a significant impact on the economy and local revenues generated. The UK Government is also funding infrastructure projects in St Helena under an Economic Development Investment Programme (EDIP) to support the island's economic development and improve opportunities for the local private sector. Current projects include the development of a container port at Rupert's Bay. This year, the UK Government provided an additional funding to St Helena's budget Government to protect the economy from the impacts of COVID 19.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much has been spent as part of the Blue Belt programme on each of the South Atlantic Marine Protected Areas; and what has been achieved through that funding so far.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Blue Belt programme supports the UK Overseas Territories to enhance marine protection in their waters. Protection has now been put in place across more than 4 million km of ocean around the Overseas Territories. The programme has been supported by nearly £25m to date. Of this, around £3.7m has been spent specifically on St Helena, around £3m on Tristan da Cunha, and around £2.6m on Ascension. The programme has supported the three South Atlantic Overseas Territories to design and designate marine protection strategies for their waters, and to put the required legislation and management plans in place, with ongoing scientific monitoring and enforcement. Further details on the programme achievements can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/934959/Blue_Belt_Programme_2016_to_2020_programme_highlights_brochure.pdf
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the government of St Helena Strategic Plan for the SHG Capital Programme 2020-2030, published on 12 May; and what plans they have to draw up a new compact to change their relationship with that government from a donor-recipient to a development partnership.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The St Helena Strategic Plan for the St Helena Government's Capital Programme 2020-2030 has helped shape UK Government's funding of a multiyear capital investment programme. The UK Government continues to work with St Helena to build a strong a partnership this including: jointly agreeing priority capital investments; support with governance reform and continued COVID 19 support which includes ongoing deliveries of personal protective equipment, testing equipment and a supply of vaccines for the adult population.
Asked by: Andrew Selous (Conservative - South West Bedfordshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether British businesses were given the opportunity to bid for the St Helena airport contract; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nigel Adams
British businesses were given the opportunity to bid for the St Helena Airport contract. On three separate occasions the St Helena Government sought expressions of interest through Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU), this was in line with UK Government procurement regulations for large infrastructure projects at the time.
Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2020 to Question 115685 on Arms Trade Export Controls; what those errors were; what period of time elapsed before those errors were identified and the licences revoked; whether any inappropriate deliveries were made under those licences before revocation; and what steps her Department is taking to prevent similar errors recurring.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
One OIEL had one destination revoked (Isle of Man). The Isle of Man is a British Crown Dependency and we do not licence exports of military goods to there from the United Kingdom. A licence was issued on 9th January 2014, the error was identified on 10th February 2015 and the licence revoked 11th February 2015.
One OIEL for a variety of goods to a large number of countries had some items for three destinations (Hong Kong, Mongolia and Taiwan) recommended for rejection by one adviser. A licence was issued on 12th May 2015, the error was identified on 29th May 2015, and the licence revoked on 3rd July 2015. The procedure for partial refusal recommendations from advisers has now been amended.
One OIEL had 31 destinations revoked (Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Barbados, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Gibraltar, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Namibia, New Caledonia and Dependencies, New Zealand, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, St Helena, Switzerland, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, United States and Uruguay). The items included on this application required import authorisation from recipient countries before an export licence is granted specifying quantities, which could not be obtained. A licence was issued on 12th February 2019 and the error identified on 15th July 2019; the licence was revoked 17th July 2019.
Two OITCLs for Sierra Leone had goods revoked because the licences were issued in error (Criterion 1). The activity licenced, which was the promotion of supply of less-lethal weapons, was outside the scope of policy as set out by Lord Howell on 9th February 2012. One licence was issued on 5th January 2017 and another on 14th June 2017. The errors were identified on 22nd July 2019 and the licences revoked 29th July 2019.
We keep our processes under constant review and have an ongoing staff training programme. We do not hold information on any transfers that took place under these historic licences, but these licences have been corrected now. We have implemented a transformation programme which, amongst other things, will be improving our processes and control mechanisms, as well as implementing recommendations from an internal audit report.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will provide the funding to the government of St Helena for a new reservoir; and if so, when such funding will be provided.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government has financed major water infrastructure investments over the last 10 years, including reservoir enlargements. The UK is currently funding a capital investment programme on the island, and the St Helena Government are responsible for proposing and prioritising the list of individual projects. The St Helena Government is currently developing its long term water management strategy, which will identify potential water infrastructure needs.
Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the supply of COVID-19 vaccines to residents of (1) British Overseas Territories, and (2) the Crown Dependencies, is being given equal priority to the supply to UK residents.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government has procured COVID-19 vaccines on behalf of the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories and is committed to continue to providing a proportionate supply in line with roll out of the vaccine in the UK. The governments of the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories are responsible for the coordination of their own vaccination programmes. This includes setting their own frameworks for prioritisation based on demographics and their wider public health strategies. The Crown Dependencies have been supplied vaccine directly by Public Health England: details of their vaccination programmes, including up-to-date statistics on number of doses administered, can be found at gov.im, gov.je and gov.gg.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has been coordinating the deployment of COVID-19 vaccines to the Overseas Territories with the support of the Department of Health and Social Care, the Vaccines Taskforce, Ministry of Defence and Public Health England. Deliveries to the inhabited Overseas Territories began on 5 January and as of 15 February, the FCDO has organised 16 vaccine deliveries to 10 Overseas Territories to support their individual vaccination programmes for priority groups, with further deliveries scheduled over coming weeks in line with Territories' vaccination plans. Planning is also underway to deliver vaccines to the two outstanding inhabited Territories: Tristan da Cunha and the Pitcairn Islands.
Public Health England have been providing expert advice to the Overseas Territories on deploying the vaccines. The FCDO have provided support to the Overseas Territories throughout the pandemic, enabling seven islands to begin testing for COVID-19 for the first time, the others to continue testing, ensuring none ran out of Personal Protective Equipment, funding two military deployments and sending medical staff, ventilators and other equipment.
Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the COVID-19 vaccination timeline for (1) British Overseas Territories, and (2) the Crown Dependencies, mirrors that planned for the UK; and if not, why not.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government has procured COVID-19 vaccines on behalf of the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories and is committed to continue to providing a proportionate supply in line with roll out of the vaccine in the UK. The governments of the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories are responsible for the coordination of their own vaccination programmes. This includes setting their own frameworks for prioritisation based on demographics and their wider public health strategies. The Crown Dependencies have been supplied vaccine directly by Public Health England: details of their vaccination programmes, including up-to-date statistics on number of doses administered, can be found at gov.im, gov.je and gov.gg.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has been coordinating the deployment of COVID-19 vaccines to the Overseas Territories with the support of the Department of Health and Social Care, the Vaccines Taskforce, Ministry of Defence and Public Health England. Deliveries to the inhabited Overseas Territories began on 5 January and as of 15 February, the FCDO has organised 16 vaccine deliveries to 10 Overseas Territories to support their individual vaccination programmes for priority groups, with further deliveries scheduled over coming weeks in line with Territories' vaccination plans. Planning is also underway to deliver vaccines to the two outstanding inhabited Territories: Tristan da Cunha and the Pitcairn Islands.
Public Health England have been providing expert advice to the Overseas Territories on deploying the vaccines. The FCDO have provided support to the Overseas Territories throughout the pandemic, enabling seven islands to begin testing for COVID-19 for the first time, the others to continue testing, ensuring none ran out of Personal Protective Equipment, funding two military deployments and sending medical staff, ventilators and other equipment.
Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many doses of COVID-19 vaccine have (1) been offered, and (2) been supplied, to each of the Crown Dependencies, broken down by (a) the total number, and (b) as a percentage of total population over the age of 18.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government has procured COVID-19 vaccines on behalf of the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories and is committed to continue to providing a proportionate supply in line with roll out of the vaccine in the UK. The governments of the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories are responsible for the coordination of their own vaccination programmes. This includes setting their own frameworks for prioritisation based on demographics and their wider public health strategies. The Crown Dependencies have been supplied vaccine directly by Public Health England: details of their vaccination programmes, including up-to-date statistics on number of doses administered, can be found at gov.im, gov.je and gov.gg.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has been coordinating the deployment of COVID-19 vaccines to the Overseas Territories with the support of the Department of Health and Social Care, the Vaccines Taskforce, Ministry of Defence and Public Health England. Deliveries to the inhabited Overseas Territories began on 5 January and as of 15 February, the FCDO has organised 16 vaccine deliveries to 10 Overseas Territories to support their individual vaccination programmes for priority groups, with further deliveries scheduled over coming weeks in line with Territories' vaccination plans. Planning is also underway to deliver vaccines to the two outstanding inhabited Territories: Tristan da Cunha and the Pitcairn Islands.
Public Health England have been providing expert advice to the Overseas Territories on deploying the vaccines. The FCDO have provided support to the Overseas Territories throughout the pandemic, enabling seven islands to begin testing for COVID-19 for the first time, the others to continue testing, ensuring none ran out of Personal Protective Equipment, funding two military deployments and sending medical staff, ventilators and other equipment.
Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many doses of COVID-19 vaccine have (1) been offered, and (2) been supplied, to each of the British Overseas Territories, broken down by (a) the total number, and (b) as a percentage of total population over the age of 18.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government has procured COVID-19 vaccines on behalf of the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories and is committed to continue to providing a proportionate supply in line with roll out of the vaccine in the UK. The governments of the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories are responsible for the coordination of their own vaccination programmes. This includes setting their own frameworks for prioritisation based on demographics and their wider public health strategies. The Crown Dependencies have been supplied vaccine directly by Public Health England: details of their vaccination programmes, including up-to-date statistics on number of doses administered, can be found at gov.im, gov.je and gov.gg.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has been coordinating the deployment of COVID-19 vaccines to the Overseas Territories with the support of the Department of Health and Social Care, the Vaccines Taskforce, Ministry of Defence and Public Health England. Deliveries to the inhabited Overseas Territories began on 5 January and as of 15 February, the FCDO has organised 16 vaccine deliveries to 10 Overseas Territories to support their individual vaccination programmes for priority groups, with further deliveries scheduled over coming weeks in line with Territories' vaccination plans. Planning is also underway to deliver vaccines to the two outstanding inhabited Territories: Tristan da Cunha and the Pitcairn Islands.
Public Health England have been providing expert advice to the Overseas Territories on deploying the vaccines. The FCDO have provided support to the Overseas Territories throughout the pandemic, enabling seven islands to begin testing for COVID-19 for the first time, the others to continue testing, ensuring none ran out of Personal Protective Equipment, funding two military deployments and sending medical staff, ventilators and other equipment.